Days before the Westmont Stop of the World Cup gets underway, some athletes were able to step away from the lane lines and onto the hardwood with the NBA’s Chicago Bulls.
Nine of the top swimmers in the world got to spend some time at the six-time NBA champion Chicago Bulls’ practice facility.
The Bulls posted the interaction on Instagram with the caption: “Hosted some world class swimmers from @world_aquatics at the practice facility today ✨”
The “Noteable Nine” include Australia’s Kaylee McKeown and Mollie O’Callaghan, Canada’s Josh Liendo, Italy’s Thomas Ceccon, Switzerland’s Noe Ponti, Great Britain’s Adam Peaty, Hungary’s Hubert Kos, and the United States’ Regan Smith and Kate Douglass spent some time with the organization and infamous Bulls’ mascot, Benny the Bull. All nine of these athletes are committed to swimming the full World Cup circuit. Initially, Summer McIntosh was slated to compete after withdrawing due to illness, with Peaty as her replacement.
The first stop of the World Cup was kind to many of these swimmers; Douglass brought home a trio of wins, slotting her just behind Gretchen Walsh in the World Cup point standings. Smith notched an American Record in the 200 butterfly, and took down McKeown in the 100 backstroke. Kos showed his backstroke dominance, sweeping all three races in Carmel, en route to a World Cup men’s point-topping 58.4 points.
The second stop of the World Aquatics World Cup will kick off on Friday and go through Sunday at the FMC Natatorium in Westmont, Illinois, which sits just 20 miles away from the Bulls training facility.